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Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman

By Michael Alan Prestwood

Author and Natural Philosopher

05 May 2024
Published 2 years ago.
Updated 2 years ago.

Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman

Your idea of "self" does not exist.

30 Phil, Chapter 6, Buddhism, Touchstone 15: Illusion: Self and Non-self.

The Buddhist terms of Atman and Anatman relate to the idea of “Self,” or “Atman,” your eternal soul and the Buddhist doctrine of “Non-Self,” or “Anātman.” To understand non-self, you have to understand the concept of “emptiness,” which refers to the idea that nothing lasts forever. “Non-self” says what we consider our “self” does not exist. What we perceive as an unchanging “self” or “soul,” is actually a collection of ever-changing physical and mental components, such as form, sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. There is no enduring “I,” existing independently of these aggregates.

The end.
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